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The 72nd Ballyshannon Drama Awards Ceremony was a night to remember, celebrating outstanding performances across the nine nights of theatre in the Abbey Centre. MC John Travers and Adjudicator Martin Maguire led the audience through an evening filled with applause, excitement, and emotion. The Patsy Croal Blue Riband, the night’s top honour, was awarded to St. Patrick’s Drama Group, Westport, for their powerful production of ‘Woman and Scarecrow’. The play also secured First Place Confined (Commercial Hotel Cup), Best Director Confined (Hugh and Mary Daly Cup) for Seamus Cafferkey, and Best Actress Confined for Martina Ryan’s moving portrayal of ‘Woman’. Balally Players dominated the Open Section, winning the Maureen Gallagher Award for ‘Ulster American’, with Aisling Finn taking Best Actress…

On the final night of the 72nd Ballyshannon Drama Festival, we welcome Phoenix Players of Tubercurry will present ‘Translations’ by Brian Friel. The show will begin at the earlier time of 7.30 pm to allow for the Awards Ceremony which follows. Set in a hedge school in 1833 in the North West of Ireland, Friels classic explores, language, love, relationships, co-existence, colonisation, nationality, and identity. Showing how language can both connect and divide people, while also illustrating the broader historical struggle between different cultures. While set in 1833, this play is as relevant in todays World as it was in Baile Beag in the 1830s. Curtain: 7.30pm, Tickets: www.abbeycentre.ie (Sold Out)

The Awards Ceremony for the 72nd Ballyshannon Drama Festival will be streamed live on the Daly’s Donegal Facebook page by none other than the magnificent Michael Daly himself. The much anticipated ceremony will take place following the close of the final performance of the festival, ‘Translations’ by the Phoenix Players, and is expected to begin around 10.30pm, but of course there may be some delays. The Abbey Centre is sold out for the final night, so we very much appreciate Michael Daly facilitating the live stream for all those festival participants and fans who are unable to attend in person. The stream will be available on the Daly’s Donegal Facebook page and will be shared by Ballyshannon Drama Society Facebook…

On Night 8 of the 72nd Ballyshannon Drama Festival, Newpoint Players present ‘Ghetto’ by Joshua Sobol, adapted by Sean Treanor. In his play, Sobol dramatises the recorded experiences of the Jews of the Vilnius Ghetto. Namesofcharacters,songsperformedandeventsportrayedarehistoricallycorrect.Intheyears from 1941 to 1944, four fifths of the inhabitants of the Ghetto lost their lives, many executed at the nearby Ponar camp; others died resisting their treatment. German officers, such as Kittel, who directed the life of the Ghetto, showed unmitigated cruelty. Some Jewish leaders tried to appease and/or manipulate their oppressors in an attempt to maximise the numbers who might survive. Mending uniforms, recording the details of endangered libraries, playing music, acting in plays, all counted as a means of getting the work…

On Night 7 of the 72nd Ballyshannon Drama Festival, we welcome St. Patrick’s Drama Group of Westport with their production of ‘Woman and Scarecrow’ by Marina Carr. Woman and Scarecrow centres on a dying woman reflecting on her life as she confronts her imminent death. Lying in bed, she is joined by Scarecrow, a mysterious, spectral figure that embodies her unfulfilled dreams and the life she could have lived. Together, they delve into the woman’s regrets, failed relationships, and her dissatisfaction with her loveless marriage. The play intertwines reality with surreal elements as Woman’s pain and fear of death are contrasted with her inner dialogues. The presence of real-world characters like her husband and Auntie Ah grounds the story, while…

On Night 6 of the 72nd Ballyshannon Drama Festival, we welcome Dundalk Theatre to the stage with ‘Art’ by Yazmina Reza. The comedy, which raises questions about art and friendship, concerns three long-time friends, Serge, Marc, and Yvan. Serge, indulging hispenchant for modern art, buys a large, expensive, completely white painting. Marc is horrified, and their relationship suffers considerable strain as aresult of their differing opinions about what constitutes ‘art’. Yvan, caught in the middle of the conflict, tries to please and mollify both. Curtain: 8pm, Tickets: www.abbeycentre.ie

On the fifth night of the 72nd Ballyshannon Drama Festival, we invite Newtownstewart Theatre on to the stage to present ‘The Remains of Maisie Duggan’ by Carmel Winters. Being dead is wonderful Kathleen, it’s the best thing that ever happened to me! Only Maisie’s funeral would bring her daughter back to Ireland. But it’s a curious class of corpse that greets Kathleen on her arrival. Curtain: 8pm. Booking: https://abbeycentre.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173661445

For the fourth night of the 72nd Ballyshannon Drama Festival, we welcome Upstage Players, Claremorris, to the Abbey Centre stage with their production of ‘The Weir’ by Conor McPherson. Set in a rural Irish pub, ‘The Weir’ revolves around a group of local men who share ghost stories to impress a young woman who has recently arrived from Dublin. As the night progresses and the stories become more personal, the characters confront their own fears and regrets. The play delves into themes of loneliness, loss, and the supernatural, blending humour and pathos in McPherson’s signature style. Curtain: 8pm. Tickets: https://abbeycentre.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173661445